Christian Research Institute Journal

The Arrival of Theravada

Southeast Asians Bring Their School of Buddhism to America

by J. Isamu Yamamoto

Part Two in a Four-Part Series on Buddhism in North America,
from the Christian Research Journal, Fall 1994, page 10.
The Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal is Elliot Miller.

Summary

Theravada Buddhism in North America is primarily associated
with Southeast Asian Americans. It is a religious tradition with
roots that go far back to the early days of Buddhism 25 centuries
ago. Today the religious beliefs of Southeast Asian Americans are
quite varied because this group includes peoples with diverse
histories and cultures. While Vietnamese Americans are more
inclined to Mahayana Buddhism, the other Southeast Asian peoples
practice and believe in a religion that is a strange mixture of
Theravada Buddhism and animism. Christians need to understand the
cultural diversity of these peoples and comprehend the Buddhist
strains that distinguish them.

Nobu Yamaguichi came to the United States with her husband in
the early 1920s. She was a Japanese immigrant devoted to her
Buddhist faith. Twelve years after they arrived in Watsonville,
California, her husband passed away, and Nobu was left with a
10-year-old son to raise.

Jimmy Yamaguichi loved both his mother and his country. So when
he graduated from high school, he was torn between joining the
army, which he had always wanted to do, and remaining home to take
care of his mother. With his mother's encouragement, he joined the
army. To help her cope with loneliness, Jimmy got her a beagle
puppy, which she named Bugle because she mispronounced what kind of
dog he was.

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Japanese Americans
were ordered to concentration camps, Nobu learned that Bugle could
not go with her. For over a year Nobu and Bugle had been constant
companions, and she loved him almost as much as she loved her son.
Her heart ached, knowing that she would be separated from her dear
friend. But of even greater concern to her was that Bugle might be
destroyed if she couldn't find a new home for him.

One of her Caucasian neighbors, who was occasionally friendly
to her, would always mention her Christian faith whenever they
chatted. Since this woman had affirmed that Christianity is
centered on compassion and forgiveness, Nobu thought she might give
Bugle a new home. Although Nobu was naturally timid, her deep
affection for Bugle compelled her to go to this neighbor and ask
for help. Sadly the woman was so upset with the Japanese attack
that she refused to even listen to Nobu's request. And so, Bugle
had to be put to sleep just before Nobu was taken away to camp.

Two years later while still in camp, Nobu learned that her son
had sacrificed his life along with hundreds of other Japanese
Americans to save a Texas battalion somewhere in France. To this
day whenever someone talks to her about the merits of Christianity,
Nobu closes her ears and hardens her heart.

Today a new wave of Asian Buddhists has immigrated to North
America. As Christians, can we learn from past mistakes and more
effectively demonstrate our faith in Jesus Christ to these people?

THERAVADA: ORIGINAL BUDDHISM?

Having encountered so many forms of Buddhism, I have often
wondered: What was the original form of Buddhism when Gautama, the
Buddha, held sway over a community of monks and nuns in India 25
centuries ago? To look back into time and observe the daily life of
a follower of the Buddha is, of course, impossible. Equally
impossible would be to discover that contemporary school of
Buddhism whose religious philosophy and practice is the identical
twin of the Sangha (Buddhist community) of Gautama's day. Even if
such a Buddhist school existed, how would we know that it is like
Gautama's Sangha or, more importantly, how could we come to a
consensus that it is?

Theravada Buddhism might be a key in understanding what
Buddhism was like during its early days, since Theravada has tried
to maintain the essence of the Buddha's teachings without indulging
in further revelations. The simplicity and the fundamentalism of
Theravada Buddhism might be the clearest image of a scene now long
past.

Historical Background

After the Buddha died, schisms continually rocked early
Buddhism and subdivided the Sangha (the Buddhist community) into
numerous schools and sects. The wide variety of beliefs and
practices among the many schools further facilitated the spread of
Buddhism, but it also blunted its ability to compete successfully
with Hinduism in India.

Since the words of the Buddha were not recorded during his
lifetime, the transmission of the Dharma (the teachings of the
Buddha) depended on the memory of his disciples and their
understanding of what he meant. The traditional Theravada account
is that in 477 B.C.,[1] Kashyapa, the leading monk at that time,
assembled a council of the disciples of the deceased Buddha in
Rajagriha. During the meeting Kashyapa questioned Ananda, the
Buddha's closest disciple, concerning the Buddha's discourses.
Ananda's answers constitute the Sutras (sermons of the Buddha).
Also during that meeting, Upali, another close disciple of the
Buddha, was questioned on the practical affairs of the Sangha. His
answers constitute the Vinaya (the rules and regulations within the
Buddhist order).

The Buddhist schools responded to and interpreted the Sutras
and the Vinaya differently. Two major philosophies eventually
emerged within Buddhism -- Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. The
adherents of Mahayana ("the Greater Vehicle") Buddhism later
referred to those Buddhists who held strictly to the letter of the
Buddhist doctrine as followers of Hinayana Buddhism, the Little or
Lesser Vehicle.[2] The Hinayana branch comprised most of the
earliest schools of Buddhism. One early Buddhist school that
predominated and survived resented the Hinayana label because it
denoted an inferior method of Buddhism. This school identified
itself instead by the name Theravada Buddhism, "the doctrine of the
Elders."

Similarities can be drawn between early Buddhism and early
Christianity. Buddhism had to overcome the fierce hostility of its
parent Hinduism, just as Christianity had to with its parent
Judaism. Both Hinduism and Judaism, as the established religions,
attempted to eradicate what they regarded as heretical sects.
Futhermore, the ruling authorities in both parts of the world
severely persecuted each faith respectively until a later emperor
decreed it a state religion. The ruler who favored Buddhism was
King Asoka (? -- 238 B.C.). He was the third emperor of the Maurya
dynasty in India, and he has been referred to as "the Constantine
of Buddhism."

Early in his reign Asoka was an ambitious conqueror who
extended his power over much of the Indian peninsula. This ambition
caused him to set his sights on Kalinga, a region on the east coast
of India which had tenaciously opposed Mauryan rule. In 260 B.C.,
he attacked and defeated the forces of Kalinga. After the fighting,
however, he became deeply grieved over the carnage and bloodshed of
the battle.

The gentleness and compassion of Buddhism gave Asoka solace for
the guilt of his crimes. After he sought penitence in Buddhism, he
studied the teachings of the Buddha and later instituted Buddhism
as the state religion.

About 245 B.C., Asoka assembled the third Buddhist council,
which finally established a definitive canon (the Pali texts --
see below). He also commissioned Buddhist missionaries to spread
the teachings of the Buddha into foreign lands, possibly as far as
Syria, Egypt, and Greece. This evangelism was successful in South
and Southeast Asia, particularly Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). It
was Mahinda, possibly a relative of Asoka, who introduced Theravada
Buddhism to Sri Lanka, where it has flourished even until this day.
Much credit, however, must go to Asoka for the diffusion of
Buddhism because of his missionary vision and zeal.

During the Gupta dynasty in India (A.D. 300--650), Buddhism
apparently enjoyed its greatest success in that country.
Nevertheless, Hinduism had far from disappeared from the scene. In
fact, a Brahmin revival had occurred in India about the second
century B.C. From then on, the Brahmins commenced an aggressive
campaign against Buddhism. In the following centuries, Buddhism
experienced periods of growth and persecution in the land of its
birth.

At the end of the Gupta dynasty, the Huns (a nomadic Mongolian
people) invaded India and destroyed many Buddhist monasteries. In
the eighth century, the reformation of Hinduism contributed to the
progressive disappearance of Buddhism from Indian life. By the
ninth century, Buddhism flourished only in those places where the
state awarded it special privileges.

Finally, the Muslim invasion of India ended the career of
Buddhism in India after fifteen centuries. This culminated in 1193
when Muhammad Bakhtyai razed Buddhist monasteries to the ground and
massacred Buddhist monks. Today the number of Buddhists in India is
small (less than one percent); most of them inhabit North Bengal,
where Tibetan influence has preserved Buddhism. Nevertheless, by
the time Buddhism had departed from most of India, it had entered
and become an essential part of many other Asian cultures.

Theravada Buddhism can best be found in Burma (now called
Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and particularly Sri Lanka. Yet even in
Southeast Asia, Theravada Buddhism has experienced a history of ups
and downs. It was highly popular during the immediate centuries
following the birth of Buddhism. About the fifth century A.D.,
however, it began to decline and for 14 centuries it slowly
withered.

The 19th century was the turning point for Theravada Buddhism
in Southeast Asia. First, the faith of the Buddhists was revived in
reaction to the challenge of Christian missionaries who introduced
their religion. Second, profound thinkers emerged to defend the
ancient religion. Third, the translation of the Pali texts into
Western languages gave it strength to spread beyond its Asian
borders.

At first Theravada Buddhism struggled weakly against the
evangelism of the Christian faith in Southeast Asia during the
nineteenth century. Four men, however, rose up to turn back the
tide. Two were Easterners and two were Westerners.

Mohotiwatte Gunananda was a Sri Lankan monk who studied both
the Christian Scriptures and Western rationalist writings that were
critical of Christianity. From his research, he formed arguments
that he used to preach against the Christian faith. From 1866 to
1873, he publicly debated with Christian missionaries. These
debates were published and distributed throughout Southeast Asia
and the West.

Henry S. Olcott, an American, read these transcripts and was
impressed with Gunananda's arguments. In 1875, Olcott and Madame
Blavatsky organized the Theosophical Society, which has some of its
roots in Olcott's understanding of Theravada Buddhism. In fact,
five years later he established the Buddhist Theosophical Society,
which has been responsible for building numerous Buddhist schools
in Sri Lanka.

Needing an interpreter to communicate in Sri Lankan, Olcott
enlisted the aid of Anagarika Dharmapala, one of the most dynamic
thinkers of the Theravada tradition. It was Dharmapala who
organized the Maha Bodhi Society in 1891, which has branches
throughout the world. And it was Dharmapala who was primarily
responsible for stimulating interest in Theravada Buddhism in the
West through his speeches and writings in the early twentieth
century.

The spread of Theravada Buddhism would not have gone very far,
however, had it not been for T. W. Rhys Davids. Davids founded the
Pali Text Society in 1881, resulting in the translation of much of
the Pali Canon into English. The English translations, in turn,
stimulated wide interest in Theravada Buddhism, starting in England
and rippling out to all parts of Europe and North America.

Theravada Today

Today there are about 120 million adherents of Theravada
Buddhism, principally in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Theravada
Buddhists who have immigrated to the United States primarily reside
in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Miami, Dallas,
Houston, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York,
Boston, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Salt Lake
City.[3]

According to the United States 1990 Census Bureau, about a
million people in the United States reported a Southeast Asian
background, half of whom reside in California: Cambodians --
147,411; Laotian -- 149,014; Thai -- 91,275; Burmese -- 6,177; Sri
Lankan -- 10,970; and Vietnamese -- 614,547. These numbers, of
course, do not reflect the vast number of illegal aliens in the
United States. In either case, most of these people are either
first or second generation Americans, and most of them are also
Buddhists of some type.

DOCTRINAL DISTINCTIONS

The Buddha was primarily concerned with deliverance from
samsara (death and rebirth -- reincarnation) and the path that
leads to nirvana (the extinction of the individual soul). He did
not try to establish a new religion nor construct an elaborate
philosophy. Instead, he taught his disciples a discipline that was
based on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path
(discussed in Part One of this series).

As a discipline, early Buddhism at once contained strength and
weakness. On the one hand, it accommodated itself to most religious
philosophies throughout Asia; this probably was the chief reason
for the wide expansion of Buddhism in the East. On the other hand,
it did not provide a refined, unified system of beliefs and
practices; this was perhaps a major cause for the inevitable
triumph of Hinduism over Buddhism in India.

Theravada Buddhism is said to be the fundamentalist branch of
Buddhism because it has preserved most of the original nature of
Buddhism. By the first century B.C., Buddhist scriptures were
collected and written in the Pali language, a vernacular descended
from the Indian Sankrit language. These scriptures became known as
the Pali Canon and serve as the foundation of Theravada beliefs and
practices. The Theravadins believe that the Pali Canon is an
accurate account of what the Buddha taught even though they
acknowledge that a number of its discourses can be solely
attributed to several of his disciples.

Theravada Buddhism contains major points of doctrine that
generally differ from the beliefs of Mahayana schools. Most
significantly, the Theravadins revere the Buddha as a great ethical
teacher but do not consider him a god, as do many of the
Mahayanists. Furthermore, their teachings are reserved for the
Buddhist monastics and not for the common people, another departure
from many of the Mahayana schools. Nirvana is also limited to those
select few who practice the rigid disciplines that are taught in
the Pali scriptures.

In Theravada Buddhism, believers are instructed to become
arhats, Buddhist saints who have achieved their own deliverance
from samsara. In Mahayana Buddhism, converts are taught to become
bodhisattvas, great beings who are destined for Buddhahood but who
delay this goal to help others achieve deliverance. The difference
between these two Buddhist doctrines is that the arhat focuses on
his own enlightenment while the bodhisattva seeks liberation from
suffering for all creatures.

Unquestionably the foremost commentator of Theravada Buddhism
is Buddhaghosa, a Brahmin born in the latter half of the fourth
century A.D. The Buddhists of South and Southeast Asia regard him
as the father of their religion. He converted to Buddhism and
traveled to Sri Lanka, where he compiled an extensive encyclopedia
of Pali Buddhist literature that retains its authority to this day.

PROFILE OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN IMMIGRANTS

Southeast Asian Americans are a highly diverse population. Not
only do they come from different countries, but also they include
a wide range of people, representing different histories,
languages, political beliefs, and even religions. They include the
educated, families on welfare, affluent merchants, gang members,
and respected community leaders. Nevertheless, they share common
experiences, having been uprooted from their former homelands
because of war and civil disorder and having suffered further
hardships in order to arrive in their new homelands. Indeed, most
have lost family members and everything they owned.

Almost all of the Southeast Asians in North America prior to
1970 were students or diplomats and their families. These people
came of their own free will. Since 1970, however, over a million
Southeast Asians have fled to the United States alone. Unlike most
immigrants to the United States who came here in search of the
American dream, Southeast Asian immigrants are actually refugees
who were compelled to leave their homelands because of severe
persecution.

In 1975, the first massive wave of Southeast Asians came to the
United States because of the evacuation of American troops from
Vietnam. Most of these immigrants were from South Vietnam, trying
to escape from the Vietnamese communists. Many of them were
educated professionals, business people, and Catholics. A high
percentage of Southeast Asian immigrants sought asylum in the
United States, whose government felt obligated to receive them.

Despite attempts by the U.S. government to assimilate these
people into its society, Southeast Asians encountered severe
difficulties adjusting to their new social climate. "American ways
were confusing to most refugees," says William McGuire. "There was
not enough understanding of such problems on the part of the social
workers. As sympathetic as the social workers were, their
background in the culture of the different Southeast Asian peoples
was often inadequate. The idea was to help people give up their
customs and adopt 'American' ones. That policy went against the
traditions of the Southeast Asians and caused even more
worries."[4]

In time, however, most of the first wave of Southeast Asian
immigrants successfully integrated into American society, both
socially and economically. Meanwhile, they have maintained their
cultural distinctions, remaining devoted to their dietary habits,
family customs, and religious traditions.

In 1980, the second major wave of Southeast Asian immigrants
entered the United States. Horrible violence had erupted in
countries such as Laos and especially Cambodia. Most of these
refugees were uneducated people, such as farmers, laborers, and
fishermen. They were less likely to know English or even read or
write their own language. To add to their difficulty, the U.S.
government did not establish reception centers and other programs
to assist their orientation into this country as it had with the
first wave. In addition, federal and state funds were not plentiful
to help them.

This second group of Southeast Asian immigrants also endured
terrible hardships prior to their entry into America. First, the
governments of their old homelands enacted harsh, and sometimes
cruel, measures on people whom they deemed undesirable -- whether
they were the intellectuals and professionals in Cambodia or the
ethnic Chinese and noncommunists in Vietnam. Second, after they
escaped their homelands, they either suffered extreme atrocities at
the hands of Thai guards in refugee camps in Thailand or became
subject to the brutality of pirates on the seas as boat people. The
psychological damage done to these people can hardly be
overestimated.

Having arrived in the United States, these refugees from
Southeast Asia encountered further problems, the most important
being the language barrier. At first, the U.S. government tried to
spread the Southeast immigrants throughout the country to
facilitate their integration into U.S. society, but the people
missed the companionship of their own kind and social intercourse
in their own languages, compelling them to resettle close together
in pockets of different communities. One of the largest settlements
is called Little Saigon in Garden Grove, California.

Different Southeast Asian immigrants have their own distinct
profiles. For example, many Cambodian refugees have suffered deep
depression because of what they experienced and observed in their
old homeland, where the brutal regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer
Rouge massacred at least one million people in a country that had
only six million people. This was known as "The Killing Fields."
Unlike the Vietnamese, whose religious beliefs are more a strain of
Mahayana Buddhism with a strong influence of Confucianism, most
Cambodians -- as well as Laotians, Thais, Burmese, and Sri Lankans
-- observe a religious mixture of Theravada Buddhism and animism
(the belief that nature and natural objects possess conscious
life).

Another group is the Hmong people from Laos. Since they had
sided with the United States during the Vietnam War, many have had
to flee from their homeland. Their adjustment to American society
has been the most difficult of all because they came from a
preliterate, tribal society. They have the highest percentage of
people on welfare, and they cling to ancestral beliefs that cause
them to worry about evil spirits, distrust modern medicine, and put
their trust in shamans (medicine men).

The American public has negatively stereotyped Southeast Asians
based on some facts. For example, some Southeast Asian youths have
formed gangs and resorted to violence, patterning their activities
after big-city gangs. Many Southeast Asians live below the poverty
level and readily accept menial jobs at extremely low wages. This
negative stereotype, however, cannot apply to the majority of
Southeast Asian Americans, who have made significant contributions
to American society. For instance, these people have done well
financially, thus paying taxes that far exceed what the government
pays in welfare to other Southeast Asian Americans. Another example
of their contribution has occurred in San Jose, California, which
has the third largest population of Southeast Asians. They
refurbished a rundown area in a shabby district of the city and
transformed it into a thriving shopping center.

From their own perspective, there have also been pluses and
minuses for their children. On the one hand, a high number of their
children are honor students and are faring extremely well in the
American education system. On the other hand, their children, as
they absorb American culture, do not pay them the same kind of
respect that children extend to their elders in the old countries.

The most important holiday of all Southeast Asians is their New
Year,[5] which is celebrated in late January or in February.
Whether they are Buddhist, Confucian, or Catholic, they all
participate in this three-day festival that occurs when the moon is
full just prior to spring planting. During this time, they pray for
the spirits of their ancestors and invite them to join the
festivities. For Southeast Asian Americans, this annual event
provides a way for them to link with their past life and history in
their old homelands.

EVANGELISTIC SUGGESTIONS

Part One of this series on Buddhism in America offered an
illustration of a peach -- one that appeared sumptuous on the
outside but was corrupt on the inside. An analogy was then drawn
between this peach and Buddhism, a religion that is the spiritual
sustenance for millions of people but ultimately will lead to their
spiritual destruction.

Theravada Buddhism is one of the three major branches of
Buddhism, and it exemplifies how a religion can appear to be full
of life but actually contain the vestiges of death. For its central
doctrines, including those tenets identical and different from the
other forms of Buddhism, conflict with the basic teachings of
Christ. In addition, the peoples of and from Southeast Asia, many
of whom subscribe to Theravada Buddhism, have an animistic mindset,
which further enslaves them into spiritual bondage.

It is strange that people can hold a Theravada world view and
believe in animistic superstition. For example, the Buddha taught
that speculation about spiritual beings hinders one from achieving
spiritual enlightenment; yet animists are constantly concerned
about appeasing spirits, particularly demonic spirits. It is at
this point that Christians should understand that most Southeast
Asian Americans who regard themselves as Buddhists are not learned
students of their religion. Rather, they possess an elementary
understanding of Buddhist doctrines and are more concerned with the
religious rituals peculiar to their own cultural customs, which
have been heavily influenced by ancient animistic beliefs.

Therefore, one should not regard the following evangelistic
suggestions as foolproof formulas pertinent to every Southeast
Asian American. Instead, while implementing these suggestions, one
should also consider the cultural distinctives of the person with
whom one is sharing his or her faith, the depth of that person's
devotion to the Buddhist faith, and the intelligence of the person
in so far as he or she can comprehend doctrinal and spiritual
concepts.

Consider Language Difficulties

Many first-generation Southeast Asian Americans are still
learning English. Naturally, one must converse with them as simply
as possible. But even succeeding generations of these people -- who
are fluent in English -- will not have been exposed to Christian
doctrines enough to have a clue as to what words like atonement,
sanctification, and resurrection mean. Thus, Christian concepts
must be described to Southeast Asian Americans in terms appropriate
to their experiences, intelligence, and education. More
importantly, Christians should avoid theological abstractions, but
instead illustrate their message with personal stories about sin,
forgiveness, and God's love. Casting Jesus' parables into Southeast
Asian American cultural experiences can be marvelously effective.

In addition, Christians need to be aware that certain religious
terms or phrases that have one meaning in a Christian setting can
have an entirely different meaning to people of a different
religious heritage. Tissa Weersingha, a Christian scholar and
pastor in Sri Lanka, illustrates this point extremely well: "If a
Buddhist were to be asked, 'Do you want to be born again?' he might
likely reply, 'Please, no! I do NOT want to be born again. I want
to reach nirvana.' The Buddhist quest is for deliverance from the
cycle of rebirths. If a Buddhist confuses 'new birth' with
'rebirth,' the Christian message will be completely distorted."[6]
Thus, avoid unexplained Christian cliches.

Distinguish Between Self-effort and God's Grace

A central theme of Theravada Buddhism is that enlightenment,
nirvana, or self-perfection can be attained only through one's own
efforts. Living a life of detachment from wrong desires and
actions, practicing meditation, observing the required rituals, as
well as performing any other duties demanded by their traditions
are works devout Theravadins do either to achieve deliverance from
earthly life or to be reborn as a better person.

Again, one must be careful with terminology. Grace is a
Christian idea quite confusing to Buddhists, especially Southeast
Asian Buddhists. In fact, even when they finally do understand the
basic meaning of God's grace, they may regard the Christian
teaching on salvation as simplistic and irrational. For example,
how is it possible for an all-powerful God to allow Himself to be
killed, or for that matter, executed in such a humiliating manner
as on the cross? In most successful cases, it takes time for them
to comprehend God's love and forgiveness, their sin nature and
their inability to resist sin, and the other issues that pertain to
grace.

Besides their initial mental abhorrence to the Christian
concept of salvation through the death of Christ, they must also
overcome their deep cultural belief that in order for something to
be gained, it must be worked for diligently. According to this
value system, the higher the goal, the harder they must work for
it. Thus their barrier to receiving God's grace is not only
intellectual but also cultural.

God's grace, therefore, must not appear to them to be a handout
given frivolously, which it is not. Instead, they must understand
that His great love for us reflects the value of this gift. In
fact, God placed such a high value on obtaining salvation for us
that it cost Him the death of His beloved Son. And God's mighty
power raised Jesus from the dead so that His grace would have
eternal value for us.

Distinguish Between Nirvana and Heaven

Sometime in each person's life he or she will ask the question,
What will ultimately happen to me? The hope of Theravadins is that
if they live a good enough life, they will be reborn to a more holy
life than the one they presently live, and that finally, after a
life as a Buddhist saint (arhat), they will experience nirvana --
in which they will cease to exist altogether. Meanwhile, Christians
have the assurance that they will be raised from the dead and enjoy
eternal fellowship with Christ in His heavenly kingdom.

It might seem incredible that people would cling to the hope of
nothingness while rejecting the promise of immortality with a
loving God, but the fact is that many do. Attachment to family
traditions, present earthly pursuits, and disbelief in such a God
as Christ obscure how much better the Christian hope is.

It should be noted that most Southeast Asian Americans do not
see a difference between biblical principles and the American
lifestyle. For instance, it is difficult for them to understand the
biblical view of God's heavenly kingdom when so many American
Christians are heavily invested in living a prosperous life in this
world. We need to make clear the distinction between that to which
the Bible has called us and that for which too many of us have
settled. In recognizing this disparity, we can admit that some of
us have fallen short but declare that others are being true to
God's calling.[7]

Be Prepared for Spiritual Warfare

Finally, we must recognize that when we share the gospel with
Southeast Asian Americans, we become engaged in spiritual warfare.
Of course, conflict with evil always exists, especially when we
evangelize. But in evangelizing these people, spiritual warfare is
particularly intense since they participate in idol worship, the
veneration of the spirits of deceased ancestors, and ceremonial
rituals for the purpose of appeasing evil spirits.

The Christian message is that we need not fear evil. Instead of
appeasing these spirits, we can confidently resist them in Christ,
who boldly cast them out during His earthly ministry. Christ's
victory over evil spirits is frequently displayed in the Gospels,
and the Christian should often point these passages out to
Southeast Asian Americans to assure them of this truth.

"Dear friends," said the apostle John, "do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world...You,
dear friends, are from God and have overcome them, because the one
who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John
4:1, 4). Thus the Christian should pray that God will bind these
demons from their lives and show them that Christians have no need
to fear evil spirits because the love of Christ is greater than any
other force (Rom. 8:38-39).

FINAL THOUGHTS

After the Lord delivered the Hebrews out of Egyptian bondage
and before they entered the Promised Land, God commanded them "to
love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt"
(Deut. 10:19). God's command has not changed. As His people, we are
to love those who are strangers in our midst. We -- individually
and as a church -- are divinely called to provide for their needs,
lobby for their rights, and share with them the greatest gift we
can give them -- the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And perhaps, like the
Moabite woman Ruth, they will say, "Where you go I will go, and
where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your
God my God" (Ruth 1:16).

NOTES

1 Buddhist scholars disagree on the date.
2 Yana means vehicle or the path one progresses to attain
nirvana; Maha means great; and Hina means little.
3 Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, vol. 10 (Danbury, CT:
Grolier Incorporated, 1991), 49.
4 William McGuire, Southeast Asians (New York: Franklin Watts,
1991), 34.
5 The Vietnamese call it "Tet."
6 Tissa Weerasingha, "Karma and Christ: Opening Our Eyes to the
Buddhist World," International Journal of Frontier Missions,
July 1993, 103.
7 Two ministries are successfully bringing Christ to American
Buddhists of Asian descent, but in different ways. One is the
Sonrise Center for Buddhist Studies (Jim Stephens -- [818]
797-9008, P.O. Box 4796, Panorama City, CA 91412), dedicated to
informing and training Christians who are working to evangelize
Buddhists. The other is Harbor House (Bill Squires -- [510]
534-0165, 1811 11th Ave., Oakland, CA 94608), devoted to meeting
the physical and spiritual needs of Southeast Asians who are
trying to integrate into U.S. society. In their own ways, both
men are being true to God's calling to bring these people to
Christ while living sacrificial lives for Christ.

End of document, CRJ0186A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"The Arrival of Theravada: Southeast Asians Bring Their School of
Buddhism to America"
release A, December 1, 1994
R. Poll, CRI

A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.

Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.

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